By a 3-2 vote, the supervisors committed $204,850 of open space money toward conserving 179 acres along three neighboring properties near the corner of Route 191 and Fox Gap Road.

The money will cover the development rights for portions of two of the properties and will outright buy 22 acres. The lion's share of the property is part of the Kirkridge Retreat and Study Center, a religious retreat area that has trails connecting to the Appalachian Trail.

The funding will go to The Nature Conservancy, a nonprofit conservation group that works with other municipalities in the region. The group has also applied for funding from the state and Northampton County, which will provide most of the funding for the purchase and maintenance of the properties.

Proponents of the plan said the three properties would help preserve the water quality and wildlife of the area. Supervisor Bob Gerwig said water from the property flows downhill into the township's aquifers. Ellen Lott, a project manager for The Nature Conservancy, added the land is rife with vernal pools, temporary bodies of water that provide homes to amphibians.

"These are natural areas that are important to wildlife and people that live here," Lott said.

Tony and Carol Scott, a husband and wife who serve on the township's Economic Development Committee, said the properties are worth a fraction of what The Nature Conservancy paid for them. The real estate website Zillow listed the properties at much lower rates, with the 22-acre property valued at nearly a third of the asking price, they said.

The Scotts argued preserving farmland should be the township's top priority. Residents approved the open space program and the earned income tax that funds it to prevent housing developments. Those developments can be built more easily, quickly and cheaply on farmland. In 2007, 82 percent of surveyed residents identified preserving farmland as their highest priority.

"What developer is going to come in here with all these vernal pools and these salamander migratory paths?" Tony Scott asked.

Supervisor Joe Batillo and Council President Ed Nelson agreed with the Scotts, recommending the township take another look at the properties.

"I do not see any appraisals on those properties even come close. Yes, we're only paying a small portion of it, but I think the total dollar value is out of line" he said.

Supervisors Gerwig, Jerry Geake and Judy Henckel voted for the purchase. Henckel pointed out the same 2007 survey also identified protecting waterways and preserving woodlands as important priorities as well. Other programs at the county level would protect the farmlands just as well.

Geake agreed that the township should focus its remaining $600,000 on preserving farmland, but that didn't make these three properties unworthy of preservation.

"I understand people don’t want to buy land you don’t want to build on, but if you have the right engineer, it’s going to be built on," he said.